But alarmingly for Koeman, Steven believes the trip to Brighton after the international break is the only one of Everton’s next six fixtures which would be “a likely win.”

After a gruelling start to the season in which Everton faced Chelsea , Tottenham and both Manchester clubs in their first five fixtures - three of them away from home - the next group of games offers little respite.

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After the long trip to Brighton on October 15, Everton face back to back home games, against Lyon and Arsenal , travel to Chelsea in the Carabao Cup , then face Leicester away before another tough away assignment in the Europa League at Lyon.

That could leave the Blues out of two cup competitions by November and rooted in the bottom half of the Premier League .

As a result Steven has labelled the Brighton visit “as big a match as any they have played in the last two years,” and worryingly he adds “I fear for them though.”

Trevor Steven on the ball for Everton against Nottingham Forest, Simod Cup final, April 30 1989

Writing in his column for City A.M. Steven said: “That is worrying - and damning for manager Ronald Koeman - is how badly they appear to have lost their way following defeats in the bulk of those matches.

“Even when they ended a four-game winless run with victory over Bournemouth it was a match they had looked like losing for a long time.

“They got of jail but then failed to build on that boost. A 2-2 draw in the next match at home to 10-man Apollon Limassol was indicative of their brittle confidence, which Burnley dented further in a 1-0 win on Saturday.

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“Right now, my old team look a mess. The players brought in haven’t settled into something resembling a team and there doesn’t seem to be any continuity of style or selection. Each match feels like a long 90 minutes and a scramble to get a result. Supporters are exasperated.”

Steven, who played in an Everton team which suffered its own crisis of confidence in 1983 - he was left out for several months after an inconsistent start to his Blues career following a £300,000 transfer from Burnley - identified some of the issues Koeman faces.

“There is a long list of problems: Cuco Martina doesn’t offer the dynamism of regular right-back Seamus Coleman; Morgan Schneiderlin has been hugely disappointing; Davy Klaassen and Gylfi Sigurdsson do not look the key components that they were at Ajax and Swansea respectively; Sandro is not an out-and-out centre-forward; Ademola Lookman has not had a look-in.

“Then you have the Wayne Rooney dilemma. I don’t think Koeman has given him long enough before dropping him. At least when Rooney played Everton had more of a style; he acted as a bit of glue in midfield.

“Tom Davies, whose energy and commitment make him a fan favourite, should be playing every game to build up his confidence. Instead he - like Rooney, Klaassen and Sandro - have been tampered with and the confidence of all the players has been rattled.

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“When you are on a poor run you need a consistency of selection, or at least shape. Koeman has not got it right and it looks like he doesn’t know how to fix it. Some of the signings have been criticised but I think Koeman got the players that he wanted so the buck stops with him.”

Steven starkly concluded: “Everton desperately need a result at Brighton when the Premier League resumes. It’s the only one of their next six fixtures that seems a likely win so it’s as big a match as any they have played in the last two years. I fear for them though.

“If we don’t see a real turnaround in form then the club could be looking for a new manager by November.”